New course to prepare students for general education math

GODFREY – Lewis and Clark is now offering an alternative course that will save many students who test into developmental math time and money toward their degree.

MATH 118: Mathematical Literacy (one semester, six credit hours) offers a quicker, cheaper, and more relevant path to general education math courses, especially for students having trouble with the traditional MATH 112 and 116, said Brandon Huff, one of two instructors who teach the course.

The current path goes from MATH 111 (one semester, four credit hours) to MATH 112: Elementary Algebra (one semester, four credit hours) to MATH 116: Intermediate Algebra (one semester, four credit hours), and prepares students to take any of the following courses: Math 131: College Algebra, Math 137: Elementary Math Modeling, Math 142: Math for Elementary Teachers or Math 145: General Education Statistics.

“This path is ideal for students going into business or STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) career fields, but MATH 118 can save other students an entire semester of coursework and two credit hours of tuition,” Huff said. “MATH 118 concentrates on practical applications for math that all students can use throughout life.”

Students taking the College Placement Test can test directly into MATH 111, 112 or 116. Anyone currently enrolled in Math 111 should talk to an adviser about what class to take next. Students who tested directly into MATH 112 or 116 and are not planning to major in a STEM field should talk to an adviser about the option to take MATH 118 instead.

The Math Department piloted two sections of MATH 118 last fall, and both were incredibly successful, Huff said.

“Taking Math 118 prepared me to move on and feel confident to take statistics. I enjoyed taking a math class that I can take what I learned and use it in everyday life,” said Kylie Edwards, a former MATH 118 student.

MATH 118 has also been helpful to students who have been out of school for a while and are just coming back.

“I took Math 118 after being out of school for seven years, and this math class not only ‘brushed up’ my math skills, but enabled me to understand the concepts of the math I was performing,” said Katie Gaylon, another former MATH 118 student. “Math 118 is not your average, ‘do 100 problems and get the right answer’ type of application. In this class, real world situations are applied in each lesson to promote the understanding of math as a whole.”

For more information on MATH 118 or which path might be right for you, contact Huff at (618) 468-4851 or bhuff@lc.edu, or Instructor Nikki Munden at (618) 468-4852 or nmunden@lc.edu.